Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Last week we got the $4 billion dollar news that Disney had purchased Marvel Entertainment. The online community went nuts speculating exactly what Disney would do with all of the Marvel characters within their cannon. This week our first bit of speculation comes from Entertainment Weekly and points to Pixar giving "Ant-Man" new life. The weekly magazine was quoted as saying, "Pixar is said to already be eyeballing an Ant-Man movie."

For fans of Ant-Man this is the best possible news we have heard from the property since 2006 when Marvel and Edgar Wright had announced they were developing a feature film. The project has been on the back burner since the mega success of Iron Man and with Wright off doing other projects fans have just been waiting around for something to happen.

Initial reaction to this bit of news could have you wondering, so does this mean "Ant-Man" will be animated if Pixar does in fact make the Marvel comic. Not necessarily. Andrew Stanton is currently in pre-production on "John Carter of Mars" which will be Pixar's first live-action film, so the idea of Pixar doing the same with Ant-Man isn't too far fetched. Ant-Man represents a nice jumping off point as well for Pixar to get their hands on one of the Marvel characters.

My biggest questions after hearing this news is, how valid is the EW report and how quickly would a "Ant-Man" film get made? Also would Edgar Wright be apart of the film? Wright has previously penned a script with actor Simon Pegg, but has said in the past he would do "Ant-Man" at a later date. Wright is currently in post production on "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" and could potentially make "Ant-Man" his next project if Pixar intends to use his previously drafted script. There is definitely a lot left open on this scoop, but the positive is that Ant-Man may not be as far off as we originally thought. More news as it develops...

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Update: Devin over at CHUD contacted Edgar Wright about the Pixar/Ant-Man specualtion and he said that was too early to comment on Pixar's involvement on "Ant-Man". He told CHUD what has happened since he wrapped "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World". He said, "I just spoke to Kevin Feige for the first time since I wrapped and we are meeting this week to discuss the next phase." He also spoke about the recent Pixar rumors. He said, "The news that Pixar is involved is not wholly accurate and a little premature to comment on. I love Pixar's work more than anyone and indeed would love to collaborate with them." While Wright's comments do not give any indicator that Pixar is developing the film, he definitely does not rule it out. Wright does say that he intends to make a live-action "Ant-Man" he mentions that Pixar could be making it a animated film, but if Pixar is developing a live-action "John Carter From Mars" there is no reason they couldn't do the same with "Ant-Man". I wouldn't be so quick to say Pixar and Wright don't come together and actually get the film made, remeber he does say the news is "a little premature to comment on." More news on this front as it develops...

What say you? Would Ant-Man make a good fit for Pixar? Should Edgar Wright remain attached to the property if Pixar greenlights the film? Strikeback...